Nagamine T. Gut-skin-brain axis in people suffering from sepsis with acute skin failure. World J Psychiatry 2025; 15(7): 106062 [DOI: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i7.106062]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Takahiko Nagamine, MD, PhD, Psychiatric Internal Medicine, Sunlight Brain Research Center, 4-13-18 Jiyugaoka, Hofu 7470066, Yamaguchi, Japan. anagamine@yahoo.co.jp
Research Domain of This Article
Psychiatry
Article-Type of This Article
Editorial
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
World J Psychiatry. Jul 19, 2025; 15(7): 106062 Published online Jul 19, 2025. doi: 10.5498/wjp.v15.i7.106062
Gut-skin-brain axis in people suffering from sepsis with acute skin failure
Takahiko Nagamine
Takahiko Nagamine, Psychiatric Internal Medicine, Sunlight Brain Research Center, Hofu 7470066, Yamaguchi, Japan
Author contributions: Nagamine T contributed to the conceptualization, methodology, formal analysis and investigation, writing of the original manuscript, review and editing, and supervision of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The author has no conflicts of interest to declare.
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Takahiko Nagamine, MD, PhD, Psychiatric Internal Medicine, Sunlight Brain Research Center, 4-13-18 Jiyugaoka, Hofu 7470066, Yamaguchi, Japan. anagamine@yahoo.co.jp
Received: February 17, 2025 Revised: March 20, 2025 Accepted: April 14, 2025 Published online: July 19, 2025 Processing time: 145 Days and 22.9 Hours
Abstract
Sepsis, a life-threatening condition, can lead to acute skin failure characterized by extensive skin damage. This is often due to decreased blood flow, inflammation, and increased susceptibility to infection. Acute skin failure in people with sepsis is often associated with sleep disturbances, anxiety, and poor mood. Inflammatory markers and lactate levels correlate with these psychiatric symptoms, suggesting a link between skin and brain function. The skin and the central nervous system (CNS) have bidirectional communication. The CNS is also in close contact with the digestive tract. The gut, skin, and brain influence each other’s functions through nervous, hormonal, and immune pathways, forming a gut-skin-brain axis. Understanding the interaction among the gut, skin, and CNS is critical to the diagnosis and treatment of various skin and neurological disorders. By recognizing individual variations in gut microbiota, immune responses, and neural pathways, treatments can be tailored to specific patient needs, enhancing efficacy and minimizing side effects. The gut plays a large role in mental health. Understanding the gut skin brain axis, will lead to improved mental health outcomes.
Core Tip: Acute skin failure tends to cause insomnia and anxiety. The skin, along with the gut, is an organ that functions as a barrier, forming the gut-skin-brain axis. The gut-skin-brain axis is a bidirectional relationship mediated by the immune system, hormones, and the autonomic nervous system. Studying the gut-skin-brain axis holds immense promise for understanding mental illness due to the intricate and bidirectional communication network it represents. In essence, the gut-skin-brain axis provides a framework for understanding how interactions between the gut, skin, and brain can influence mental health, opening new avenues for prevention and treatment.
